Micheál Martin says Ireland will recognise Palestinian statehood
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Tánaiste Micheál Martin has told the Dáíl that Ireland will formally recognise the State of Palestine soon, signalling a major milestone in Ireland’s support amid the ongoing violence in Gaza.
He said he was in “no doubt that war crimes have been committed” in Gaza, and he “utterly condemned the ongoing bombardment” of the Gazan people.
“We have discussed this between the Government parties, and it is my intention to bring to Government a formal proposal on recognition when these wider international discussions are complete,” the Fianna Fáil leader said.
“But be in no doubt, recognition of a Palestinian State will happen.”
It is expected that Ireland and other EU states could announce formal recognition of Palestine within weeks, pending a ceasefire or some peace initiative in the region.
Since the October 7 Hamas terror attack in which more than 1,000 people died, Israeli forces have subjected Gaza to a sustained bombardment that has killed more than 30,000 people.
Ireland has previously said it would not recognise the State of Palestine until the time was right, at a juncture where it would make a difference to the peace process.
This had been the view even before the recent conflict.
Like-minded countries such as Spain have recently said they would soon recognise Palestine amid the ongoing conflict.
Mr Martin, speaking after Simon Harris’s first speech as Taoiseach in the Dáil, said that Ireland’s diplomacy efforts would be key.
“The grave humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the desperate, overwhelming need to return some hope to this region will continue to be an urgent priority,” he said.
“I am realistic about the limits of what Ireland could reasonably be expected to achieve by itself, which is why I have placed so much effort into building effective cooperation with other countries.”
Mr Martin said that he had been engaged in ongoing and intensive discussions with other countries, and had been clear to the Israeli government that the “shocking crimes” of Hamas and the need to secure the release of hostages “cannot justify the scale and terrible humanitarian catastrophe of the war it is waging”.
“There are those here who believe that angry speeches and unilateral action is the answer to everything — but our approach of building international alliances through the hard work of direct diplomacy will achieve far more for the Palestinian people,” he said.
“For the past six months I have maintained ongoing discussions with ministerial colleagues in other countries about how a joint formal recognition of Palestinian statehood could be a catalyst to help the people of Gaza and the West Bank and in furthering an Arab led peace initiative.
“We have agreed that the undermining of the Oslo Accords and therefore the agreement to create two states has reached a point where the Accords’ approach of recognition after a final agreement is not credible or tenable any longer.”